Color-Coordinate Cords
Do you feel powerless when faced with look-alike cords? Find the one you're looking for in a flash by wrapping colored tape just below the end of each cord. Choose distinct colors or patterns for charging, USB, and coaxial cables so you can identify them at a glance.
Related: 10 Smart Cord Management Solutions Under $50
Paint with Plants
You don’t have to be an art major to put nature’s paintbrush to work in your home. A menagerie of hanging and potted plants stationed on the floor, mantel, or floating shelves can add an instant pop of greenery and infuse dead spaces with life.
Related: Buy or DIY: 7 Hanging Planters for the Great Indoors
Go Mad for Murals
Unleash your inner shutterbug on a do-nothing wall by installing a DIY mural inspired by your own photography. After you select a photo, you need nothing more than a smartphone printer, mini film, and double-sided tape to create a distinctive display of your gallery-worthy work.
Related: 10 Ways to Unleash the Potential of Your Blank Walls
Double Down on Desks
Fooled by its streamlined silhouette, you might never guess that this desk leads a double life. By day, the extra tabletop is propped up against the wall to hold notes and reminders. By night, it drops down to form an elegant extended surface for studying or a late-night snack.
Related: 21 Ways to Make a Small Bedroom Big
Think Sartorially
Repurposing seldom-worn scarves into pillowcases is a free way to add an element of luxury to a bedroom. Here, a tri-toned summer scarf in muted hues is wrapped around a throw pillow and then knotted at the center to serve as a chic companion to beds of all sizes.
Related: 10 Ways to Redecorate Without Spending a Dime
Put Storage on Wheels
When space is at a premium, look no further than this understated underbed storage solution for your sneakers, sandals, and heels. The pine frame, nickel cabinet pulls, and casters make this roll-away accent a runaway hit.
Related: 11 Best Buys to Make Your Small Home Feel Big
Piece Together Area Rugs
A large area rug doesn’t have to come with a larger-than-life price tag. If you have two smaller rugs (woven styles work well), line them up and weave them together at the seam using a bent paper clip and twine. Best of all, this idea is easily scalable—combine as many coverings as you want to suit the size of your space.
Related: 10 Doable Designs for a DIY Rug
Make a Grand Entrance
Even a cold and uninviting entryway can be made more hospitable with the addition of space-smart decor. Here, wooden crates stacked in an attractive tiered design add personality to blank walls while serving as a practical drop zone for shoes and accessories.
Related: 14 Ultrafunctional Ideas to Steal for Your Entryway
Get Hooked
Stuck on the side of a dresser or bed frame, Command hooks offer extra storage space when your closet is maxed out. Cure clutter by placing a few more in your entryway or hall to catch loose belts, scarves, and keys.
Related: The 9 Best Storage Spots You Aren't Already Using
Lean on Ladders
Hanging a spare ladder against an empty wall is a great way to give it a second life as a stylish vertical storage unit. Note how this wooden ladder, planted a cheerful mint green, serves as a practical yet playful clothing rack.
Related: 9 New Things to Do with Old Ladders
Dress Your Bed for Less
With the help of upholstery twist pins, you can attach bargain fabric directly to a box spring to create a beautiful but no-fuss skirt to hide underbed storage. This bed skirt's playful pinstripe design is the perfect foil for the neutral quilt.
Related: 10 Things Your Bedroom Might Be Missing
Hang Picture-Perfect Curtains
Why bother scrolling through your favorite Instagram snaps on your phone when you could enjoy them all the time hanging in your bedroom? First, print out your faves onto transparencies (or just grab some of your best slides). Fit them into transparent sleeves, and use scissors, superglue, and tape to turn the sleeves into curtains with a stained-glass vibe. Hung in front of a window, they'll keep the sun's glare out—and your memories close.
Related: 10 Must-Follow Instagram Accounts for Architecture Lovers
Read Between the Shelves
Even in a shared dorm room, you don’t have to sacrifice precious square footage to gain extra storage. This headboard does double duty as a bookcase for stashing novels, electronics, and decorative accessories. Even when the shelves are jam-packed, the open design gives the illusion of space.
Related: 14 Easy Ways to Make Your Own Headboard
Reframe Photos
When it comes to wall art, there are no limits to what you can DIY. Case in point: this frugal, frameless photo gallery. Just outline your photo or poster with patterned washi tape to draw the eye to your display.
Related: 9 DIY Ways to Redo Your Wall—Without Paint
Disguise Drawers
Hidden below the surface of this desk is a deep, dark secret: a DIY drawer formed by fabric hung below the desk with hooks and a curtain rod. The slender structure is sturdy enough to hold paper and office supplies, but subtle enough to go unnoticed.
Related: 13 No-Fail Small-Space Solutions
Hang Jewelry
In addition to keeping your clothes organized and wrinkle-free, hangers can hold your jewelry. Just twist a few screw eyes into the wood to make this easy, ample hanging rack for your valuables.
Related: 8 DIY Storage Solutions for a Closet-less Room
Revamp a Rug
These no-hassle tassels give a plain rug an understated yet unmistakable elegance. Steal the low-effort look by knotting crochet yarn into tassels and tying them along the edges of a rug that could use a boost.
Related: 10 Mini Makeovers You Can Do in Minutes
Don't Miss!
If you have the money to hire a handyman for every household woe, go ahead. But if you want to hang on to your cash and exercise some self-sufficiency, check out these clever products that solve a million and one little problems around the house. Go now!
